Has Manchester City identified a new target to regenerate their midfield?

This weekend has seen international football become the focus of attention. Despite this teams are still making plans for next summer’s transfer window. The scouting of players is done by clubs do all year round. It is a common practice as teams seek to build their database of potential transfer targets. With this in mind, has Manchester City identified a new target to regenerate their midfield? A new report indicates that the champions are keeping tabs on Athletic Bilbao midfielder Oihan Sancet.

Spanish publication Fichajes reports that Manchester City could make a move for Oihan Sancet next summer. Furthermore, Fichajes reports that Athletic Bilbao would demand a fee of over €60 million to sell Sancet. Fichajes further reports that Oihan Sancet is contracted with Bilbao until 2032. That contract gives Athletic Bilbao control over their star midfielder’s future given the length of his contract.

What type of player is Oihan Sancet, and could he one day fit into Manchester City’s squad?

Oihan Sancet is a versatile midfielder who can play a variety of roles in midfield. He is blessed with outstanding technical ability that allows him to play in tight spaces and make use of outstanding passing ability. Sancet is also blessed with intelligence and vision that allows him to exploit spaces in Bilbao’s opponents’ defences. There are shades of Ilkay Gundogan in aspects of Oihan Sancet’s play. Although he is a different type of player to the Manchester City legend. Across his career for Bilbao, he has scored 27 goals and added 15 assists in 161 appearances for the club. This season he has scored 2 goals in 4 games for the club as he has started the 24/25 season well.

Another standout attribute of Sancet’s play is his tactical awareness. His ability to read the play helps him as an attacking player and when his team defends. He is a typical Spanish midfielder in this regard, which is evident every time he steps onto the pitch.

As a player, Oihan Sancet appears to be a complete midfielder. He can play in a variety of roles and has an eye for a goal and a pass. Sancet looks to be a player who could play at the very top level of the game. At 24 years of age, he also looks to have the best years ahead of him as he continues to develop as a player. But could he become a player to slot into City’s midfield in the future? That’s a different question entirely.

Oihan Sancet could be a player to help regenerate Manchester City’s midfield.

Someday shortly, Manchester City will begin regenerating their midfield. A look at the age of a host City’s midfielders shows this. Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are all 30 or older. As great as their contributions have been to the club the time is coming when the champions will need to replace such great midfielders.

Could Oihan Sancet be a player to one day help regenerate City’s midfield? On closer inspection, he has the tools required to be a potential player for Manchester City. But that will depend on what type of midfielder the champions require if they do move for Sancet in the future.

The report from Fichajes suggests that Oihan Sancet is emerging as a target for Manchester City. He looks to be a player who could one day slot into Pep Guardiola’s midfield. But there are several factors that need to be considered before he becomes a concrete option for the world champions. How he progresses for Bilbao this season and what City plan to do next summer will likely dictate how close the report from Fichajes turns out to be.